//
Although American art was almost unrecognized outside of New York and Philadelphia in 1943, the North Carolina city of Hickory set out to establish a museum of American art. Located on Hickory, NC’s SALT Block (Sciences, Art, Literature Together), Hickory took the lead in the Southeast as being the first city to establish a museum of American art. Among the artists represented in the HMA collection are names such as Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Cole, Asher B. Durand, J. Fredrick Kensett, William Merritt Chase, Worthington Whittredge, F. Ballard Williams, Eanger Irving Couse, Elliot Daingerfield, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Hobart Nichols, Albert T. Bricher, Edward Potthast, and many others. Closed Mondays. Free admission.
Hickory Museum of Art (HMA) is an art museum in Hickory, North Carolina which holds exhibitions, events, and public educational programs based on a permanent collection of 19th to 21st century American art. The museum also features a long-term exhibition of Southern contemporary folk art, showcasing the work of self-taught artists from around the region. North Carolina's second-oldest museum, Hickory Museum of Art was established in 1944.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Explore the Physical and Natural Sciences. Interesting traveling exhibits rotate throughout the year. It has a planetarium and aquaria with touch tanks where you can touch creatures such as live sharks and rays. Located on Hickory, NC’s SALT Block (Sciences, Art, Literature Together), in the Arts & Science Center of Catawba Valley, CSC also provides a variety of educational movies (in their digital planetarium and fun programming for school groups, children, families, adults, homeschoolers, preschoolers, scouts and other community groups. The Science Emporium gift shop stocks educational toys and gifts that enhance the museum experience.
Downtown with two screens and daily $5 showings. A local favorite with ultra-affordable concessions and reclining seats with cupholders. Located in a seemingly ancient theater (built in 1934) downtown near the Wachovia building.
As American as, well, baseball! Always good fun, and the Crawdads usually win, too! Try the Crawdad Red Ale at the Crawdad Cafe. (Take I-40 to exit 123 North (Hwy 321 Lenoir/Airport). Travel to fifth stoplight and turn left onto Clement Blv., NW. L.P. Frans Stadium is 1/2 mile up to the right). $6-12.
First-run movies.
NASCAR short track. It is the oldest professional sporting venue in Catawba County, and the oldest continually operating motor speedway in the country with over 53 seasons. Three fully equipped concession stands, a souvenir stand, six large restroom areas, and three enclosed air-conditioned hospitality suites. Also contains a game room, and kids' fenced-in play area with a climbing gym & swings, and RV parking is available.
Two challenging golf courses, a spa, restaurants, and lodging.